Somali minorities raped and tortured, report
Minorities such as the Bantu and Gaboi suffer even more than the general population in war-torn Somalia, according to a report out Wednesday. These groups suffer abuses including summary executions, beheadings and rape.
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This because they are not protected by the traditional powerful clan structure, says Minority Rights Group International.
Mark Lattimer, Minority Rights Group International, Nairobi.
"The worst is definitely in south central Somalia, where much of the territory is more controlled by al Shebaab, by islamist militia, says Mark Lattimer, the group's executive director. "There are acute human rights abuses, including a great problem of the curtailment of religious freedom. Many traditional Somali Muslim religious practices are being suppressed by al Shebaab, who follow a very exclusionary ideology."
He adds that his group has noted widespread rape as well as executions, torture, forcible displacement and expropriation of land.
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